Heroes.

I decided to write a post about the word 'hero', because it seems to me that it is often used incorrectly. Then I realized that I really don't know what 'hero' means, so I looked it up: "a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities." (The definition of 'heroine' is the same, except for the 'man' part.)

According to that definition, someone is a hero because people think he is. That's too fuzzy, especially considering the bozos voting. (Not to be cynical, but the state of politics in this country the last 10 years has... well, made me cynical.)

Consider 9/11. The people who were killed in the World Trade Center were called heroes, but they weren't - they were victims.

How about firemen who rushed into the doomed structures? You could make a better case that they were heroes, but I think they were just firemen doing their jobs. Someone who chooses a hazardous occupation and then is killed in the line of duty is not, necessarily, a hero.

Death alone does not confer heroism.

Then there is Flight 93. Some passengers rose and attacked the terrorists, preventing the plane from crashing into the Capitol. You could make a good argument that they didn't take action until they'd learned that they were doomed if they did nothing, so they acted in self-defense. However, I choose to call those people heroes because it would feel wrong to deny them that honor.

And then there's war. Many people say that anyone killed fighting is a hero. I disagree. They aren't heroes, they're soldiers. Soldiers sometimes die, it's a known and accepted job hazard. We don't know why people decide to enlist and go to war - maybe it's the only job they can get, or maybe they want to be able to shoot at people.

World War II might be a different story. Soldiers were fighting for something important then, and to an extent I think that even the act of volunteering was heroic.

I can't say the same about the Vietnam War, though no doubt many who enlisted voluntarily thought they were doing something important. I'm inclined to think that many who refused induction because they thought that war, or that particular war, was wrong were somewhat heroic.

The students killed at Kent State? No, because there was no reason to think that anyone would be shot, even if they were protesting for the right reasons. They were victims.

Certainly there are many soldiers who were true heroes. Flopping on a live grenade to save others is certainly heroic. There are many other examples.

I guess I still don't know exactly what 'hero' means, except that someone is a hero if you think he is. I just wish people would be more careful with the term.